Megaphone



R. A. BROWN 2,346,818

MEGAPHONEY Filed 001:. 3, 1941 INVENTOR ROBERTA. BROWN Patented Apr. '18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEGAPHONE Robert A. Brown, Elizabeth, N. J. Application October 3, 1941, Serial No. 413,406

2 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved type of megaphone.

For use by spectators at games and the like, it is desirable to provide a megaphone of light construction, yet strong and inexpensive so that it will stand up during use and may be discarded after being used one or more times.

It is further desirable to provide such a device on which advertising material can be easily printed prior to the shaping of the device. A megaphone of this type, which can be easily manufactured to the finished form and yet cost little if any more than those types which are cut from blank stock and rolled to shape by the user, is also highly desirable.

In present devices of the kind under consideration, the mouthpiece does not conform to the mouth of the user so as to confine the sound waves to a directed path. Back-wash oi the sound waves results from the conventional mouthpiece of such devices.

To be able to make such devices cheaply and easily without the use of special machinery is also highly desirable.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a cheap, light megaphone of durable construction which may be discarded after being used one or more times.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a device on which advertising matter can be printed prior to the shaping of the device.

A still further object of my invention is to provide such a device which may be easily manufactured to finished form and yet cost little if any more than the type which must be assembled by the user.

A still further object of my invention is to provide such a device with a mouthpiece which will conform to the mouth of the user.

A still further object of my invention is to provide such a device which may be manufactured on existing machines and which is light and suificiently rigid and durable to withstand the normal use of devices of this character.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, but the invention itself will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device made according to my invention, Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig ure 1, and Figure 4 shows a blank punched from flat stock after printing and prior to forming into shape.

In the drawing it will be seen that a megaphone 9 made according to my invention has a body portion in which the sides are formed, as will be described, by overlapping. The small end which provides a mouthpiece is provided with a flexible flange is extending inwardly and transversely of the axis of the megaphone. The larger end is provided with a rolled-in bead l2 for lending rigidity to this end of the device. The flexible flange 10 in use conforms to the lips of the user and confines the sound waves to the aperture and interior of the megaphone, since the megaphone is held closely against the mouth. This prevents sound waves from striking the outside of the megaphone and being reflected back, reducing the intensity of the sound being directed from the large end of the megaphone. The folded overlapped walls lend additional strength to the longitudinal axis of the megaphone and the flange l0 lends rigidity to the mouthpiece, whereas the bead l2 lends rigidity to the larger end of the megaphone.

This device can be made easily from flat stock and has the advantage that printed matter may be printed on the blank prior to forming to shape. This avoids the difficulty of printing after forming, or printing on flat sheets of paper which must be pasted to the megaphone after it is formed. It can be made of a cheap grade of paper, such as a straw paper, which while reasonably stiff is one of the most inexpensive papers which can be utilized and which when made as described is of sufficient rigidity and sufiiciently durable for use one or more times.

Referring to Figure 4, it will be observed that the blank is formed by cutting an apertured disc from flat stock. The flange ill for the mouthpiece is formed at the center of the apertured disc and the lines H indicate the lines along which the creases are made to form the megaphone. The segmental portions 14-45 are folded under the truncated sections l3 and the truncated section l6 forms the innermost layer of the megaphone. This is clearly illustrated in Figure 3 showing a section of the body wall. The portion I2 is folded back and rolled over to form the bead l2. These operations can all be performed on machinery already available in the paper working art.

While I have indicated the preferred embodiments of my invention of which I am now aware and have also indicated only one specific application for which my invention may be employed, it will be apparent that my invention is by no means limited to the exact forms illustrated or the use indicated, but that many variations may be made in the particular structure used and the purpose for which it is employed Without departing from the scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. A megaphone constructed from a single sheet of flat stock comprising a tapered body portion increasing along its length in transverse section, the small end being provided with a fiat aper'-- tured mouthpiece normal to the longitudinal axis portion, the body portion comprising of said body phone being bead.

provided with a rolled over stiffening tured mouthpiece, and normal to the said mouthpiece being flexible longitudinal axis of said body ROBERT A. BROWN. 

